Best Laid Plans
by Deviant Nature
Summary: The greatest Devils the world has ever known have made it their art to know how to exploit the two most powerful of forces. Curiosity...and love.
1. Blood Moon Rising

Standard Disclaimers: Inuyasha and Yuu Yuu Hakusho belong respectively to Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi.

Notes: I give up. SoM, Ookami… (mostly SoM) You guys win and get your gift fic. –sighs miserably and shakes head- Okay… to explain, while working on BAON, it seems another author (this would be SoM, as she very well knows) has placed a curse on me. A curse in the shape of a Chibi-Bishi who has taken up residence on my shoulder and spends almost all of his time kicking me in the head and insisting that _he_ can make a much more interesting story. I have no idea if this is or is not true, but for the sake of my sanity, and peace from those who have discovered this… I'll post the rough beginnings of the idea.

However! I won't continue it until after I've finished BAON. (Or rather, I won't _seriously _continue it… I may sporadically add bits as they come to me.) –shrugs- It's just one of those things. I can't commit to this seriously when I'm so focused on the other story. I suppose you can say that this is just an outline of a future plan, and you may notice a few recurring themes along with a few different ones. But my Chibi-muse is dictating, and we'll just have to see what spin gets put on the previous ideas. This will be shorter (Gods, I hope it's shorter), darker, and- well, we'll just have to see…

Best Laid Plans

:Blood Moon Rising:

::"_Just like that?_"_ her disbelief was just as obvious in her voice as it was in her expression._

"_Just like that_._ You may not believe me_, _but I assure you, my dear_, _I have found myself in the mood to be… indulgent_,"_ those unblinking eyes never released her gaze as he dipped his head to her in a semblance of respect_. "_You and your friends are free to leave without interference from me_."::

:-:-:

"Are you sure, Yuusuke?" Botan's voice drifted through the communicator, worry coloring the normally carefree tone.

Yuusuke swore darkly under his breath, lifting the communication device back up to eye level to hiss at the screen more directly while still keeping his focus on the small figure racing along in front of him, blurring in and out of the shadows seamlessly. "Botan, am I in the habit of making shit up that will mean _more _work for myself?! I'm running down the middle of the park trail at midnight, and I sure as hell ain't doin' it for my health!"

"Okay, okay!" Botan hurried to try and placate him before she caught the nasty end of what promised to be a prime temper working its way free. "What do you want me to do? Portal? Information?"

"Having Kurama or Hiei get over here to take over would be _helpful_," he gritted out, slanting a quick scowl at the screen. "I can't chase him forever and he's too fast for me to head off. He knows the area, and that's putting me at the disadvantage!"

"Well don't take my head off, Yuusuke, I'm trying to help!" Botan frowned right back at him, folding her arms across her chest in protest to being the outlet for his frustration despite her attempts to be accommodating. "Now where are you?"

"What the hell do you mean where am I?" Yuusuke burst out, wincing slightly when the echo reverberated back much louder than he'd intended. He swore again when the small youkai threw a scarlet-eyed glare back over him shoulder, censure flashing in those inhuman eyes over the noise, "Little fucking bastard… _Botan!_ Now ain't the time to be playing around and getting cute with me, all right? Just wake one of 'em up and tell them to get their 'superior' youkai ass out here to help me catch this punk before he gets away!"

"I'm _not_ playing around!" Botan shouted back, bringing a smirk to Yuusuke's face when he caught the almost indistinct flinch of the youkai ahead of him. "Wherever you are, I can't get a clear read on you, okay? There's something in that area is distorting what our equipment can pick up, something big."

_What the hell?_ Yuusuke almost stopped short at that, restraining that urge when the youkai ran under a street lamp, momentarily giving him a flash of pale skin, and lips quirked up in a sardonic smirk. _He's listening to me_, _dammit all_, _he knows there_'_s a distortion in the area!_ Yuusuke promptly forgot all about trying to make a judge on his brief sighting of the youkai's face under a new flash of anger. "Shit, he's laughing at me… Botan, could this youkai be the one screwing that up? Messing with the readings up there?"

Botan shrugged, giving him an apologetic smile, "I guess?"

"You guess?!"

"Hey, we haven't have any unregistered youkai passing the barriers in months, Yuusuke," Botan protested, looking at something off screen that he couldn't even begin to guess at. "You're supposed to be in Kyoto this week for that convention or whatever, aren't you? I don't think any of the youkai with permits to live in that prefecture have any sort of spiritual distortion… Are you close to the city?"

"Unless I've run a lot fucking farther than I thought, I'm still in the general area," Yuusuke drawled out, only half-joking as he frowned and he tried to backtrack the tangled path the youkai had run him through the darkened streets and parks until now. "I think I'm up north a little, I don't know. We've gotten turned around a few times, but I'm definitely not in the city. Too many trees."

"I'll see what I can do about getting someone else out to help you, but you're not giving me much to go on," Botan scolded in disapproval for the lack of useable information. "Do you see any street signs around? Anything that can narrow it down a little?"

"No time to look at the street," Yuusuke nearly rolled his eyes in exasperation. "It's trying to do something in the shadows, make me lose sight of it. This ain't one I can take my eyes off of, Botan."

The youkai tossed another glance back over his shoulder to gauge their distances before he suddenly made a hard right turn, effortlessly leaping up to clear the high wooden fence in front of it. Yuusuke let out a huff of exertion as he followed close behind, coming down easily into a deserted construction lot almost directly of the youkai's heels and smirking when he saw the scarlet glow of its eyes narrowing in obvious displeasure. Yuusuke let out a humorless chuckle, and muttered more to himself than for his audience's benefit, "Yeah, that's right, punk. You should've realized by now you ain't running from a normal human."

The youkai made a sound of disgust loudly enough to reach Yuusuke's ears, not breaking pace as he pivoted to face his pursuer, shifting his weight to slide backwards more easily as he tensed down into a semi-crouch. Jyaki gathered thick and heavy in the air around his diminutive body as he shot upwards, focusing on Yuusuke directly in a way that had the detective's eyes lighting up in satisfaction. "Fucking _finally!_"

"Yuusuke?" Botan's voice sounded slightly panicked as he dug in his heels, skidding to a halt in the loose gravel as well. "Yuusuke, what's happening over there!?"

"Gotta go, Botan," Yuusuke informed her almost cheerfully, already closing the communicator. "Bastard's finally stopping to have a real fight."

"Wait, Yuusuke, _don't-!_" the communicator clicked shut, effectively putting an end to whatever she might have said as he stuffed it down in the pocket of his jeans.

"Figured out you can't run fast enough to get away from me and decided to stop wasting my time, did ya?" Yuusuke grinned broadly, tensing in preparation to jump after the youkai and bring him down as quickly as possible.

"You're the one wasting time by forcing me to stop and kill you."

The sound of his voice had Yuusuke drawing up short, eyes widening under a sudden flash of shock as his momentum abruptly died. Confused and more than a little alarmed, he squinted up to try and get a better look at the youkai's face with the moonlight against him, _What the hell?! He sounds like_-? _This really is just a-?_ SHIT, _did a youkai take over the body of a little kid?_

The street lamp just above the fence flickered on and spilled its light out across the lot, eerily reflecting across scarlet eyes as the youkai turned a scowl at the uncooperative machinery. He frowned, but looked towards Yuusuke again as he hovered just above the startled detective's height with the light clearly revealing just how young the boy he was facing truly was. Yuusuke shook off the daze with effort, a blistering line of curses spilled from him as he reabsorbed his ki in a rush and rapidly attempted to rethink his strategy.

The air seemed to thicken with the increasing tension as they stared at each other until the youkai made a disparaging sound and held up one hand. A prickle of awareness shot down Yuusuke's spine, warning him to dodge away from a rippling wave of jyaki just as the ground below him shattered. Rolling to a stop in the packed dirt, he turned an angry glare up at the youkai hovering so nonchalantly in the air above him. Gritting his teeth, Yuusuke got back to his feet and wracked his brain for a way to get the youkai out of such a young child without hurting the borrowed body.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a fool," the boy's lip curled up in icy disdain as he held up one hand again and obviously gathered his jyaki for a second attack. "You're out of your league in facing me, retrograde."

_Fuck, how did a guy like this slip under the radar? These attacks aren't weak_, Yuusuke brought his hand back into position to fire off a warning shot, not in the least bit surprised when the boy fluidly dodged under the attack without losing his hold on the focus jyaki. "You get out of that kid all peaceful like and I might be more inclined to let you off without killing you, punk bastard!" he stared down the sight line of his finger as he aimed more carefully, refocusing on the central line of ki shifting darkly through the small body .

One brow arched in a strangely aristocratic motion, "How pathetic… You really don't know anything, do you?"

"Last warning."

"Take your best shot," the youkai smirked wickedly, flashing slightly pointed canines against his lower lip as his eyes took on a deeper glow that seemed to bleed into his pupils and erase all semblance of a normal human's gaze. "You'd just better hope your aim is more accurate than your perception. I'm only in the mood to give you one."

Yuusuke's jaw clenched hard enough to make the muscle in his cheek twitch under that mocking taunt, "If that's how you want to play it, asshole, I ain't gonna go easy on you. I'll just have to get out of that kid by force!"

The youkai twisted to the side rapidly when Yuusuke fired off his next attack, frowning in irritation at the strength in that ki grazing past him. All humor faded from his expression as he held his small hand out towards the detective and splayed his fingers wide. The wave of shouki instantly tore through the lot, giving Yuusuke no time to dodge as it raced at him, splitting at the last moment to spiral out in a confining circle around his position. Yuusuke brought up his arm instinctively to cover the lower half of his face, shying away from the noxious fumes making his eyes water and his throat burn as the force of the attack threatened to drive him to his knees. Choking and coughing, he struggled to back away from the strongest concentration of the oppressive power. Finally he managed to force his weakening legs to jump out of the circle just as the energy snapped back up into the boy and reabsorbed with only a fain ripple to indicate it had been released at all. Yuusuke stumbled as he landed, barely catching himself on one knee, and blinking furiously in his efforts to clear away the involuntary tears blurring his vision as the sound of mocking laughter filled the air around him.

"Fuc-!" Yuusuke's voice broke off in a fit of coughing before he managed to get himself back under control and snarl out viciously through his temporary blindness. "Fucking _coward!_ Get back here and fight! I ain't done with you!"

"You aren't worth the trouble, you bothersome halfwit," the youkai snorted, the voice still echoing oddly around him without any definite direction. "It's very late, and you're very boring. Go home."

"Why you little shit-!"

"And you're far too vulgar," the boy cut him off with a sound of disapproval. "I don't allow such crass things as you to follow me past this point. But if you leave this area, I'll let you live, retrograde. I can be generous. After all, it's been a good night for me."

Yuusuke gripped his throat, dropping to his knees and gagging when the oppressive jyaki returned in full force, steadily increasing and pressing in on him from all directions. It seemed to force its way into his lungs, stealing his breath and spotting his already blurred vision until he could feel himself wavering at the brink of consciousness.

It felt like an eternity, like falling into nothingness over and over when the feel of the jyaki slowly began to fade. The pressure in his chest eased, and Yuusuke gasped loudly at the painful rush of clear air into his starved lungs. Coughing wracked his body, and he sluggishly cursed the weakness in his body when that act alone left him panting and shaking. He forced his eyes to open, blinking as his focus wavered for a moment before clearing and leaving squinting up at the moon in confusion. Frowning, he took stock of his body, wondering when he'd been knocked off his feet as he weakly turning his head to stare up at the high concrete walls surrounding the park.

_Wait_, the frown deepened, and he shook his head hard in a futile effort to knock the haze clear from his thoughts. _This isn't right_. _T-the park_…? _How did I get back to the_-?

The dazed thought trailed away in realization when his line of sight landed on the motionless figure sitting atop that wall with all the arrogant grace of a lord surveying his domain. The boy was obviously waiting, watching Yuusuke intently as he sat with one knee carelessly tucked to his chest and his black hair fluttering out behind him like a banner in the weak glow of the streetlamps. Dispassionate scarlet eyes stared down at him, cold and hard as Yuusuke gasped and struggled to hold onto his elusive consciousness.

"B-bastard," Yuusuke choked out, pressing his hands against the cold grass as he fought to lever his body up. The muscles in his arms gave out, dropping him back to his original position as his stomach lurched, and everything around him started to swirl and dip in nauseating chaos.

The youkai let out a snort, rising to his feet with fluid ease, "Don't forget that you're the one who attacked me first. And while you can still hear me… tell whoever sent you to stay away or I'll kill them, understand? Next time I won't hesitate."

Yuusuke tried to raise his head again, straining at the effort it took just to see the boy turn and stuff his hands in his pockets as nonchalantly as a human doing nothing more suspicious than walking home from school. His head throbbed as he turned it to follow the direction the youkai began to walk along the wall before the lack of oxygen took its toll and sent him pitching backwards into the soothing darkness.

:-:-:

::"_There is just one small question I have for you, miko, if you feel so inclined to suffer my curiosity_."::

:-:-:

An insistent, not-so-gentle nudge in the ribs from what was unmistakably a booted foot had Yuusuke grunting in protest and rolling onto his side as he reflexively grumbled out, "Fuck off and die, I'm sleeping."

"It's rather impolite of you to summon us so insistently and choose to sleep through our arrival, Yuusuke," Kurama's singularly melodic voice drifted through the pounding in Yuusuke's ears, making him groan and fling an arm up over his head to block it out. Apparently undaunted by the continued "hints" that he'd like to remain in his resting state, Kurama continued with a more leading reminder. "Botan seemed to be under the impression you were in grave danger."

Mention of the spiritual liaison had memories of the previous night rushing back in full force, snapping Yuusuke's eyes open to find sunlight making a bright, painful halo around Kurama's bent head. _Danger! Shit, that's right! I was chasing_-

When the battered man abruptly shot up, Kurama barely had time to jerk out the way and save them both from what would likely been a painful collision, "_Sonofa**BITCH**_"

"I take it your hunt did not go as well you had hoped then," the kitsune recovered his composure with ease at the resounding curse despite the way it made his ears ring and the nearby birds take flight in protest. When Yuusuke seemed inclined to dissolve in an impressive flurry of inventive profanities, Kurama sighed and slanted a curious look at the hybrid leaning back against the sun-warmed wall with his eyes closed. _Well_,_ now we know there is no permanent damage to him_. _Have you found anything about the youkai he was chasing yet?_

_Just the remains of the jyaki that led us here_, Hiei cracked one eye open, closing it again in deceptive nonchalance as he allowed the Jagan to feel out the unfamiliar and uncharacteristically clear surroundings as best it could under the restraining band. _Those idiots were correct about the level of distortion_._ Whatever is making this vibration around the city is making trying to track this youkai difficult_. _I can feel too many old shrines here, old holy blood purifying its tracks out of the air_.

_That's hardly encouraging,_ Kurama frowned at the implication, turning his attention back down to their leader when the snarling choked off. When he discovered Yuusuke clutching at his throat as though in pain, Kurama knelt and reached out to press one finger against the center of the gagging man's forehead to perform a more thorough search for soul for internal injuries, "Yuusuke? Yuusuke, what happened? Botan said you were attacked in this area and called for us."

Yuusuke's hand lifted, shoving Kurama away irritably and grinding his palms against his clenched eyes at the ungodly headache pounding away at his skull. "Yeah, yeah, I called. Saw this little punk run out of a school after hours with youkai blood on his hands, so I chased him. Thought he was one too, but it's a kid, a little kid being possessed."

"Are you certain?" Kurama's brows rose in surprise. _How would a youkai have passed into Ningenkai and made a possession without Reikai being alerted? That hasn't happened in ages_.

_I could think of a few reasons_.

_Koenma isn't _that _inept_, _Hiei_, Kurama pointed out after that snide remark. _Not any more at least_.

_Now he makes _us _monitor for youkai presences_, _of course the methods have improved_.

"Hell no, I ain't certain!" Yuusuke hissed out, groping around to brace his fist on the ground and push himself unsteadily to his feet. Practically radiating frustration when his legs refused to cooperate, he lashed out, slamming his fist against the wall beside the unperturbed hybrid. Eyes closing, Yuusuke slumped forward to rest his forehead on the stone and expounded on his observations, "But he looked like a kid, smelled like a kid, and sounded like a kid, so I'm making a guess. The energy was too strong to fit the body."

"Yelling at Kurama won't absolve you of failure," Hiei snorted when Yuusuke seemed to be gearing up to continue. He opened both eyes to enjoy the man's expression with all his senses, reveling in just how easy it was even now to rile their so-styled leader into a full rage as he dug deeper into the cause of Yuusuke's distress, "You underestimated your opponent, Urameshi, the fault is your own."

Kurama quickly held up a hand to forestall an all-out battle when Yuusuke drew back with every intention of redirecting his anger against Hiei's head this time, "Arguing will not solve this problem. For now, Yuusuke, we'll trust your guess and assume we're looking for a human child under the influence of a dark spirit. That means we need to find it and exorcise it as soon as possible to prevent damaging the child permanently."

_That would have been a good fight, Fox, I don't appreciate your interference_, Hiei let out an indecipherable sound and folded his arms back behind his head, turning his attention to the more tedious matter of filtering through the fading pulse of jyaki for some hint to their intended prey's origins.

_We have more important things to be worrying about than assuaging your boredom by goading Yuusuke into another fight_,_ Hiei_, he gave the hybrid a pointed frown and knelt to rest his hand on the grass for anything else the spirits within the plants could add to their search. _Save it for attacking this youkai when we succeed in tracking it down_.

_Hn_, Hiei inwardly sighed with reluctance, but backed off and let the kitsune inject his false calm into their surroundings to smooth the chaotic ki in the park and calm the restless spirits. After long minutes of nothing but staring alternately down at Kurama's motionless form and up at Yuusuke's agitated pacing in front of the wall, Hiei gave the kitsune an impatient mental push, _Well__? Are you having more luck conversing with your non-sentient little minions about getting us some useable information?_

Kurama shot him an irritated frown for the disruption, _Don't__ get bitchy with me because my methods are more effective than yours right now_. _It isn't my fault that the jyaki was purified before you could pick it apart_.

_Is that a no?_ Hiei couldn't resist taunting just to see minute tightening of the kitsune's lips.

_Would you like to know what these spirits are telling me_,_ or would you rather I handle this one on my own?_ Kurama's eyes flashed gold as he rose to his feet, one eyebrow arched in sharp arrogance. _You can take Yuusuke back to Reikai to get him examined for the extent of his injuries; I'll contact you when I have finished tracking down this youkai and exorcising it_.

_I didn't think I'd hit your head hard enough or often enough to knock your brain loose_, _but apparently I was wrong,_ Hiei rolled his eyes, pushing off the wall to casually walk over beside the kitsune. _Now what did they tell you?_

_That's actually the disturbing part_, Kurama simply ignored the hybrid's insulting remarks, a hint of concerned bemusement flickering through his eyes as he walked to the nearest tree and rested his palm against the rough bark. _It says it recognizes the jyaki_.

_Recognizes how? It_'_s familiar with the youkai that gives off this energy?_ Hiei's brows lowered, prodding at the kitsune when he lapsed into thoughtful silence. _Fox_-

"Be quiet, I'm speaking with stronger spirits to find out," Kurama scolded, closing his eyes as he let his forehead rest lightly against the tree above his hand. _Spirits are very selective, and they can be temperamental_. _Not to mention they're sensitive_ _and I need to be focused when I'm calling out to them_. _Besides_, _they say they don't much like you_.

_I'm crushed_.

_And that's not helping matters with them any_, Kurama cracked one eye open to fix him with a stern warning. _We're strangers here, and the spirits in this place are mostly peaceful sorts_. _They don't want us causing strain on that balance and upsetting their health_.

Hiei turned to face him, all taunting gone under the underlying severity in the kitsune's thoughts. _They think _we _would cause strain?_

_That's what they say_, Kurama nodded, leaning back from the tree with a pensive look up into the branches. _The owner of the jyaki has been here for a long time_ _and it has never caused problems with nature_. _They are loathe to give up the youkai's location and change the state of their relationship with it after they saw the way Yuusuke attacked last night_.

_Even though they can feel that it_'_s evil ki?_

_They say we don_'_t understand_, Kurama sighed and shook his head to convey his own lack of understanding with the bizarre arrangement. _But they say there's a miko who lives nearby_, _a very powerful one_. _If she trusts us_, _then the spirits in this place will be more open to accepting us and answering my questions_.

_Are you hearing your plants right?_ Hiei snorted dryly. _They're telling you_, _a kitsune_, _to go announce yourself to a miko? We're supposed to go search her out on our own when Yuusuke's the only one of the three of us with any human blood in him?_ _And even that is questionable since his regression_.

_I'm repeating what this tree's spirit is telling me_, Kurama let a thread of his own youki pour into the tree as a sign of gratitude for the help before drawing his hand away from the bark. _It says that we'll find her if we can find the god's tree_. _The miko is the one who protects it_.

Which _god's tree?_ Hiei cocked his head slightly to one side.

Kurama shrugged, _That's__ all it said_,_ the spirit didn't specify which god blessed the tree_.

"You two planning to do more than stand there having eye-sex or should I give you some privacy?" Yuusuke loudly cleared his throat, irritated that he was obviously being kept out of the loop with whatever connection the two youkai shared.

Hiei shot him a disgusted look for the crass and wholly inaccurate description for his discussion with the kitsune, "Kurama believes that we should locate the strongest miko in this area and question her about the possession."

"Riiiight, because present day _human_ miko hear so much about _real _shit like this," Yuusuke rolled his eyes. "You guys lookin' to get us thrown in an asylum?"

"Unless _you_ have a better idea," Hiei challenged, one brow arching up in a clearly derisive action. "We'd be eager to listen since you proved yourself so proficient in dealing with this youkai last night."

"Listen, you pissy little fucker, I already told you it's inside a human kid!" Yuusuke rounded on him crossly, pointing directly at the smaller youkai for emphasis. "I ain't gonna run in blasting when the youkai has a hostage like that! I could have killed the host by accident."

"You may have to kill the human child anyway," Hiei pointed out nonchalantly. "Not to mention your attack of conscience will prove useless if the possessed child is killing off more innocents to survive. By sparing one, you'll only have empowered it to kill more before we track down where it is hiding."

"We'll deal with that if we have to, but for now, killing this kid is out of the question, Hiei, you got that?" Yuusuke gritted his teeth against the sharp bite of truth in Hiei's more ruthless logic. He pinned the hybrid with an unwavering glare, refusing to back down until Hiei acquiesced to the command with a shrug and turned to stare off into the park.

"That decision and its consequences are our responsibility," Hiei remarked blandly, slipping his hands down into the pockets of his coat as he readjusted and refined the Jagan's method of searching more specifically with his own youki. His eyes narrowed slightly as his fanning senses slipped over a line where the jyaki weakened almost to nothing, curiosity sparking when either side of that single path had a more definite echo of its presence.

Kurama was turning, mouth open to speak when he realized Hiei was already walking away from them, _Where__ are you going?_

_To find you a miko and a god's tree_, Hiei repeated the spirit's instructions dryly. _It stands to reason that tracing the path with the least amount of jyaki will take us to the strongest concentration of holy energy_.

Kurama just shook his head, lengthening his stride to catch up with Hiei's pace and calling back to Yuusuke to get him in motion after them as well. _And you wonder why it's so difficult for others to get along with you_.

_It's not a concern I lose sleep over_, Hiei openly scoffed at the sardonic taunt as well as the suggestion he gave half a damn how he was commonly viewed. _I make no secret that I have little to no patience for humans and their idiocy and this is a perfect example_. _If Yuusuke had been making any effort to think, he could have followed the youkai quietly and waited for our arrival before trying to attack it_. _Thanks to his error, we're on an idiotic search for a miko and a fucking tree_.

_Don't be so lazy_, Kurama chided with a soft laugh, even more amused at the scowl it earned him from the shorter youkai. _Come on_, _Hiei! When's the last time you saw a real miko? It could be more fun doing it this way_.

_Miko _kill _youkai_, _remember?_ Hiei resisted the urge to sigh and let Kurama see he was getting to him. _I'm not psychotic enough to go hunting out that kind of problem just because I'm bored_.

_You'll get old before your time if you don't learn to loosen up more often_, Kurama sighed in exaggerated disapproval.

_The last thing I need is a depraved kitsune wearing a human disguise inflicting his ideas of "fun" on me,_ Hiei slipped one hand down and back enough to feel the reassuring bulge of his sword hilt in its concealed position.

_Fine, fine_, Kurama dragged a hand back through his hair in a smooth, practiced motion just to further irritate the hybrid. _But the sex is good_.

Hiei's eyebrow twitched, but he stubbornly refused to rise to the bait.

"Oi!" Yuusuke jogged a bit to catch up and fall in step with the silent pair, jerking his thumb back in the opposite direction. "Wouldn't it make more sense if I showed you guys the school he came from before we start looking around outside the city?"

Kurama briefly glanced down at Hiei to see if he wanted to respond to that, smirking to himself when the hybrid simply closed his eyes in his stereotypical, silent dismissal. Shaking his head, he focused on Yuusuke to explain their chosen course of action, "If the trail disappears completely, or is too old to properly track, yes. But better to learn what we can from where the youkai was trying to go now while there _is _something of a trail, than to go where we know he's been. And if we can find a miko with real awareness in this region, we'll have a chance to try for a few more answers."

"From a miko," Yuusuke muttered a few choice curses under his breath when they nodded calmly. "Look, it ain't gonna do us any good to chase a maybe, you know. And chances are it's trying to blend in if that's the body it picked, not to mention how well it knew where it was going. So if that's the case, it would be in school right now and we can catch it there."

"You can follow whatever lead you'd like," Hiei pointed out without the slightest change in his tone. "Kurama and I aren't stopping you, but I should point out that we have been hunting and finding youkai skilled at hiding themselves since before you were born. We also don't intend to hold your inadequacies up against our own considerable experience as you _have _proven yourself somewhat capable of finding victory after all."

"You're an asshole, Hiei."

"Hn," Hiei's smirk was back under the frustration in Yuusuke's response. "I'm not so weak-willed as to change who and what I am simply because I am trapped in this ridiculous contract."

_Snob_, Kurama lifted his hand in an authoritative motion to stop Yuusuke from getting into it with Hiei again.

_Pervert_.

_I happen to embrace my singular eccentricities_, Kurama returned loftily. _However, I do not appreciate your insult to my unique morality_.

_Shameless pervert_, Hiei amended.

_That's better_.

:-:-:

::"_You can't be serious_._ A question? You did all this_,_ tricked them -_tortured_ them_,_ and use them to demand I come here just so you can ask me a question?_" _the increasing disbelief was clearly written on her face as she stared up at the elegant figure staring down at her_.

"_Even I am struck with bouts of curiosity from time to time_," _he pressed one hand over his heart and bowed to her. _"_I knew without proper incentive, it might prove difficult to encourage your attendance. But not matter_,_ miko_,_ you are here_,_ and you may choose to answer or not as you see fit_._ I will still allow you to leave peacefully_. _To be fair to me_, _believe me when I say that I am not without some sense of my own honor_. _I believe one must offer a sort of trade in the midst of delicate negotiations_…"::

:-:-:

_For some reason, I have a weird feeling I should recognize this place_, Kurama frowned lightly, glancing at the ancient stone adorning the shrine's open gate. He hung back, and reached out to trace his fingertips thoughtfully over the elegantly, expertly crafted lines of archaic kanji giving the shrine's name. Only to jerk his hand away in startled reflex when a crackle of holy magic sent a vibration of warmth shooting up his arm and straight to the core of his being. Kurama froze, pressing that hand over his heart warily as the ki made its way through him like warm honey, spreading out through every inch of his body. His eyes went wide at the oddly searching sensation that pulsed through him, sinking deeper into his soul and beating heavily once with his heartbeat before it inexplicably, harmlessly faded away.

_Why would you recognize a shrine? Have you been trying to figure out how much holy magic you can withstand again, you twisted pervert?_ Hiei turned a particularly dry look down on the distracted kitsune.

Kurama blinked, frowning up at him as he searched for any sign the hybrid had been aware of the intense scan he had just endured. But when not even a glimmer of realization flashed through the claret eyes, Kurama hesitantly brushed his own confusion aside and began climbing the daunting stairs. Energy seemed to curl up around his feet, sinuously caressing up his calves with every step as the spirits began to stir and reach up for him. Ignoring the oddly primal feel of the stone beneath him, Kurama instead focused on responding to Hiei's inquiry as normally as possible. _Increasing my tolerance for such power is not a perverted action, Hiei_. _But no, I haven't explored the Kyoto shrines in a few centuries_. _I've been busy_.

_Hn_, Hiei snorted in disgust, slipping his hands into the pockets of his black jacket. _You realize that your fascination with the human education system is absolutely disgraceful_.

_I happen to _realize _that I make an excellent professor,_ Kurama turned his nose up in lofty arrogance, unable to restrain his curiosity as the spirits seemed to push and tug at him until he reached the well-kept courtyard behind Hiei and Yuusuke. _Besides, I know more about human level botanicals than any of their so-called professionals could hope to learn in a hundred lifetimes_. _They're lucky to have my expertise at their disposal in even a limited capacity_.

Yuusuke had come to a stop just outside the Torii, reaching up anxiously to rub the back of his neck under the tingling pulse that seemed to be almost tangibly grasping up at him from even the dirt. He winced as he looked around the quiet courtyard, taking in the simplicity of the charms and decorations on the structures as he imagined how much they would have had to listen to if they'd brought Kurabara. "Shit. This place feels weird."

"The power here is much stronger than other temples I've visited ever since I was much younger," Kurama murmured in awe, his own perusal of the shrine coming to a halt when he found the incredible tree practically vibrating under the amount of holy energy stored inside it. _That's it_…_ that's the god's tree the other spirit was talking about_, _it has to be_. _Which deity does this miko serve if the blessing is that potent?_

_Maybe if you're nice, she'll tell you before she purifies you into ash_, Hiei drawled out, side-stepping the "accidental" elbow aiming for his chest.

_I can convince the spirits here that you're a suspicious presence_, Kurama warned him, folding his arms over his chest as he let the barest touch of his youki stir the air at his feet. _I'm just a harmless kitsune_, _after all_, _drawn here by my love of nature_. _You're the dark and brooding youkai radiating dangerous jyaki and being rude to their memories with your disrespectful ways_.

_I'll make sure someone plants flowers on your grave_, Hiei made a point to let Kurama see his hand moving to rest over the hilt of his sword again. _This is neither the time nor the place for your tricks_.

_A wise youkai knows how to create the time and place as he sees fit_, Kurama dipped his head in a mocking bow, but obliged Hiei's offset nerves by turning to address Yuusuke's concerns. "It's definitely an old line, and the power here hasn't faded like the others." His attention was pulled back towards the tree again, sending thoughts of tormenting Hiei far from his mind as he murmured out, "But it almost feels… intelligent."

"Intelligent? What, it's like a shrine that can think? You're kidding, right?" Yuusuke turned a sour look on him.

Kurama shook his head, dispelling his odd fascination with the tree with effort as he faced Yuusuke again and made an expansive gesture to illustrate his point, "Is it burning us? We can feel it brushing us, trying to touch our souls, and it definitely feels the youki in us, but it let us walk past the Torii. Now it just feels like it's waiting to see what we do."

Yuusuke reached up and covered his eyes with one hand, pinching the bridge of his nose to chase away the lingering ache. "All right, fuck it. Have it your way, Kurama, it's a thinking shrine. Why the hell did the jyaki trail head towards it then? Wouldn't the shrine have figured out that the youkai throwing all that off was bad news and fried it?" Yuusuke rocked his weight from heel to toe impatiently, scanning the layout until he identified the walkway leading to the main house.

"If I knew the answers to that, we wouldn't be here looking for signs of the youkai," Kurama arched an eyebrow at Yuusuke's continued irritability. "I understand you think we're wasting our time here, however, it seems a fair guess that we are really not going to get anywhere just standing here and sniping at each other."

_And you accuse_ me_ of goading him_, Hiei drawled out tauntingly.

_He started it_.

_How old do you claim to be again?_ Hiei rolled his eyes at the childishness of that defense.

_Older than you_, Kurama slanting the hybrid a sly look, sliding his fingers into his hair to show he was ready to back up his words. _I can prove it if you'd like_.

_I refuse to engage in a pointless battle on holy grounds to satisfy your ego_, Hiei turned his back on the kitsune, more interested in the strange vibrations the shrine was giving off, and allowing the Jagan to feel about for the possible sources. _So that_'_s what a god's tree looks like?_

_Amazing_, _isn't it? _Kurama's entire demeanor softened as his gaze went to the ancient tree again, holding back the urge to ignore the human dwelling in favor of the ancient foliage. _This miko can't be all bad if she's taken such exquisite care in preserving the spirits inside a tree that old_. _She obviously cares a great deal about nature_.

_That doesn't necessarily mean anything_, Hiei pointed out. _You can't judge her just on the condition of the plants around her shrine_.

_You can tell a lot about a human by their surroundings_, Kurama maintained crisply. _Say what you like, but we won't rule out the possibility that this miko will not be as close-minded as the ones we've experienced before_.

_Are you trolling for sex?_

_I believe in leaving my options open_, Kurama smirked as they followed Yuusuke along the walkway towards the house. _Especially if she's attractive_.

Yuusuke was still muttering, swearing under his breath as he approached the quiet home and reached out to rap his knuckles firmly on the wood before he stepped back to wait for an answer. "Someone had better be home."

Hiei rolled his eyes behind Yuusuke's back, sliding his hands out of his pockets in favor of folding his arms over his chest, "You're behaving as impatiently as that other human idiot."

"You stay out of it!" Yuusuke pivoted to snap back at him, pointing a finger at Hiei and bristling in irritation when that only earned him another of the hybrid's cool smirks.

A sound from within the house distracted him from continued his verbal –and potentially physical- spar with the hybrid, encouraging him to face the house again and straighten his posture to a much more authoritative stance. The sound of footsteps moved closer, and Yuusuke took a step forward, readying himself to demand information when Kurama's hand came down on his shoulder, "Now what?!"

"Yuusuke, Hiei is right," the kitsune shook his head, pinning him with a stern frown. "You don't think we can be blunt and actually outright ask the family here if they've seen a youkai within the last few days, do you?"

"Foolish idiot," Hiei muttered under his breath at Yuusuke's answering silence.

"All right, listen you-!" Yuusuke had just started to pull back his fist with every intention of planting it in Hiei's smirking face when the door slid open with quick snap and had them all freezing in place.

An older woman stepped out of the house with a polite, welcoming smile on her face and giving off a vibe of domestic peace so strong that Kurama was starkly reminded of his own mother. The one stark difference being the strength of health and vitality radiating from her and licking along his senses, _This_…_is a strong human_,_ especially if she's as old as I think she is_.

_You're not here to eat_, _Kurama_, Hiei prodded him sternly, looking straight at the human woman with guarded curiosity over her lack of reaction to finding three less than normal "men" standing on her doorstep.

Now matter how much he grew up -or cleaned up for that matter- the youkai blood that had awakened within Yuusuke promised to keep a certain roughness to his appearance. And granted, Kurama's face had a tendency to dazzle and charm anyone, but experience over the years since they'd been forced to work with each other had proven Hiei's presence was generally enough to make any humans they met nervous enough to overlook even the kitsune's appeal. There was just absolutely no way in any layer of hells that anyone could mistake him for a peaceful human on the best day, even if they didn't have the slightest iota of spiritual awareness.

Not to mention this woman had opened the door to the sight of Yuusuke with his fist obviously up and ready to start attacking him.

She blinked without ever losing that calm expression, turning her attention meticulously to each of them in turn without saying a single word. Her perusal even went so far as to thoroughly, carefully look them all up and down before she turned back to the house just as calmly as she had exited. Kurama winced at the sign of dismissal, taking a step forward with his hand lifted in preparation to get her attention and start smoothing things over. His mouth opened, preparing to turn on the charm and make their apologies for the lack of manners to prevent any suspicion when she called back into the house loudly and startled them into stillness all over again.

"Kagome-chan! It's for you!"

:-:-:

::"_How much… do you love your friends?_"::


	2. Reawakened Nostalgia

Standard Disclaimers: Inuyasha and Yuu Yuu Hakusho belong respectively to Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi.

Notes: It occurred to me as I was working on the next chapters that I had more bits and pieces of this completed than I did for BAON's next update. So after a few quick questions to some trusted sources, I decided to focus on cleaning this up and having it out. SO! Hopefully this will work to satisfy the impatient long enough for me to finish up "other" things.

For all of you who have been leaving me such nice emails and reviews for this, thank you so very much. It's so nice to hear such sweet compliments for this, and it's even helped me convince Puppy to post more what she wrote for us that led to this story.

Best Laid Plans

:Reawakened Nostalgia:

:-:-:

:"_If I do this_… _If I agree_, _you have to prove to me it will last forever_."

"_If there is one fear you don't need to have_, _my dear miko, it would be that I would promise you anything less_.":

:-:-:

Hiei turned a sharp glare on Kurama, obviously expecting the kitsune to know the answer he was looking for. _Why did this woman assume so quickly that we_'_re here for someone? _

'_I don't know_,' Kurama answered calmly. His brows drew together in frustration at the nagging sense that he was missing something important. Something simple. '_No one has ever had that kind of reaction_.'

_I'm fully aware of that_. Hiei rolled his eyes. _What kind of shrine is this? I've never been in a place that gave off this sort of sentient vibration but didn't attack_. _And that woman_-

'_Quiet_.' Kurama made an impatient motion with his hand when he heard a soft voice respond to call from deeper in the house.

They were left standing alone at the open door as the older woman followed that answer. Disappearing around a corner while they all leaned in an instinctive effort to see around the divide to what was occurring in the house. Hiei frowned when he realized what he'd done, straightening his posture and folding his arms.

_You look foolish_, Hiei pointed out to cover his own embarrassment. _You aren't going to see around wood_.

'_Shut up_, _Hiei_, _I'm listening_.' Kurama shot him a quelling frown and gestured into toward the entryway with his head. '_The acoustics in the house are good for eavesdropping_.'

Almost on cue, the older woman's voice reached their ears. Making a vague sound they couldn't quite identify before the harsh sound of glass striking glass made them wince. "Here, give me that, Kagome-chan, I'll finish this."

"Who is it?" The oddly soothing voice came in the midst of more domestic sounds… dishes being set to a table or perhaps in a sink if Kurama wasn't mistaken.

"It's three of your friends."

"Oh? From the school?" The girl's voice was louder now, as though she had turned towards the hallway.

"_Friends_, dear."

Silence fell inside and Kurama's frowned deepened. The way the woman had said it… It was a ridiculous notion, but it was almost as though she knew the three of them weren't exactly human. But if that was true, why would she have been so calm? And _why _would she have instantly called into the house for "Kagome?"

The air around them seemed to still, before the permeating warmth stirred and actively twine around their legs. Hiei's attention snapped down, clutching at the hilt of his katana. _Fox_-

'_Don't_,' Kurama held his hand up to stop Hiei from actually drawing the weapon. '_If you do anything right now that can be perceived as a threat_,_ it'll be bad_. _Let's wait and just make sure she's the miko. And see if she's willing to talk to us_.'

_I am not dying for you today_, _Kurama_.

'_I'm not intending to die_, _stop being so goddamn twitchy_.' Kurama pinned him with a stern glare. '_If the miko had the control or the desire to kill us, don't you think she would have done it by now?_'

Something_ knows we're here_. Hiei tilted his head back and glared up at the windows of the peaceful house. _Something strong_.

'_And if you don't calm down and let her come to us_, _you're going to make this infinitely more difficult_.' Kurama slid back a step from the door, taking a deep breath and forcing himself into a more casual stance. '_Try to look harmless_.'

Hiei gave him a dry look.

'_That's not helping_.'

_What would be your brilliant suggestion on how I accomplish that_, _Kurama?_ Hiei didn't bother to tone down the sarcasm in his voice.

'_You could smile_.' Kurama folded his arms across his chest, irritated at all the problems he knew he was going to have with the two most volatile and unpredictable members of his "team."

One corner of Hiei's lip curled up, twisting the look on his face into something malicious and openly sadistic.

Kurama looked pained. '_Not like _that.'

_You said smile_. Hiei's eyes glinted with amusement, but he let the smile fade into a much more neutral expression.

The sound of light footsteps approaching the door stopped Kurama from replying to that. He sent one more stern glare at Hiei with a warning to behave, and even elbowed Yuusuke to remind him of their delicate position. Kurama took a deep, calming breath and let it out slowly. Bracing himself against any reactions this miko might have, he quickly put on his most disarming smile.

_You still look foolish,_ Hiei couldn't resist jibing, just to see the minute signs of the kitsune's smile tighten at the edges.

But in the next instant, Kurama's expression shifted to shock. His smile vanished, eyes widening and brows almost disappearing under his bangs the instant the girl stepped down into the entryway. Hiei started to reach out, curious at the bizarre reaction when Kurama grinned in genuine delight, and started to laugh.

At Hiei's curious look, he shook his head with a self-deprecating chuckle. '_That's why I recognized the name of the shrine._'

Hiei and Yuusuke both turned to look at him with varying degrees of surprise and demand coloring their expressions as the kitsune took a step forward and bowed deeply the instant a young woman wearing a rather old-fashioned keikogi stepped out of the house.

"Higurashi Kagome." Kurama raised his head, eyes flashing gold as he met her startled gaze. He turned to one side long enough to make his companions feel included in the introduction. "A Kyudo expert with international renown and the long-standing, not-so-secret crush of my former college roommate."

The introduced "Kagome" blinked, visibly taken aback for a moment. Just as quickly, her brows rose and answering laughter bubbled up before she could stop it. Her entire countenance instantly relaxed from guarded curiosity into delighted surprise. And when his arms opened expectantly, she stepped forward into his enthusiastic embrace without the slightest hesitation.

Leaning back, Kagome flashed him a dazzling smile and teased, "Well, well… if it isn't the infamous Minamino Shuuichi. What in the world are you doing at my shrine at this hour of the morning, hm?"

"O-oi… you two… know each other?" Yuusuke looked back and forth between them with a disoriented sort of awe.

"By reputation mostly," Kagome shook her head to deny a closer personal association. "Our paths never seemed to cross for long despite _several _attempts to the contrary."

"You have a gift for dodging invitations," Kurama acknowledged.

"Practice." Kagome winked at him.

"Although," Kurama turned his nose up and flashed a smug smile, "we did become close at the wedding of a mutual friend several years ago." Kurama turned his full focus back to her in a sweeping look of admiration. "You have obviously been taking excellent care of yourself since then, Ka-chan."

"Mm, and _you_ have been practicing too." She thunked him on the chest with her knuckles lightly, unable to stop her lips from twitching up at the blatant flirtation. "Again, I'm flattered, but no thank you. Though it's good to see you've finally managed to straighten out your ki. I was a little worried you were going to have serious problems."

"I did tell you there was no reason for concern." Kurama dipped his head to recognize the compliment and silently thank her for the show of affection. Delighted that she was so quick to reengage in the same easy banter they had indulged in at their first meeting. "And you know you can always change your mind."

Kagome reached up and poked the center of his forehead. "All those good looks are going to your head again, Shuu-kun. The very hint of anything intimate between you and me would send Houjo spiraling off into screaming insanity, and you know it."

Kurama couldn't help but chuckle at the reminder, taking that as his cue to ask, "How is Houjo these days?"

Kagome couldn't quite keep the surprise out of her voice, "You don't keep in touch?"

Kurama was the one to wink this time, lifting one hand to tap a finger to his lips. "I didn't feel it would be appropriate. Given the circumstances."

"That is entirely your fault for being prettier that Eri." Kagome didn't look the slightest bit sympathetic to that piece of information. "Houjo might not have told her everything about what happened, but the way he still looks at you makes her suspicious."

"I refuse to take full responsibility when _you_ are the reason Houjo's wife questions his ability to let go of old relationships," Kurama accused dismissively, eyes practically sparkling with suppressed laughter. He chuckled at the blush that spread over her face at his counter-blame. Satisfied that he had scored a victory, Kurama kept one arm around her waist and turned his attention around to her shrine. Curiously looking over the grounds with open interest, he absently murmured, "I thought you still lived in Tokyo. When did you come here?"

Kagome smiled, but to the keen observer, a hint of pain flickered across the surface of her eyes. "There was a fire… We lost everything. But my grandfather's brother asked us to take over his shrine here. He was too old to take care of it by himself, and-" she trailed off with a shrug.

Kurama could see Yuusuke flinch sympathetically at the news. Sighing, the kitsune gently squeezed her into another half-embrace to show his sympathy. "I'm sorry to hear for your loss, but at least no one in your family was hurt."

"We were very lucky," Kagome agreed easily. "It was years ago now, Shuu-kun, but thank you. Kyoto has been good for my family, and the history here is absolutely beautiful. There are times it feels like we never lived anywhere else."

Hiei tilted his head to one side as he studied the interaction between this miko and his friend. _This is a strange human_, _Kurama_.

'_Don't be rude_, _Hiei_._ She is not_,' Kurama defended quickly. '_Kagome has always had a love of nature that sets her apart from other humans_.'

_No wonder you two get along_. Hiei snorted at the offense Kurama seemed to take on her behalf. _Does she know?_ _I saw your eyes_.

Kurama subconsciously tightened the arm around her waist for a moment. '_Does she know what?_'

_You know exactly what I'm asking_, _Kurama_, _don't play stupid with me_, Hiei warned.

He slanted a bland look to the hybrid and shrugged faintly. '_Kagome knew from the beginning_. _She reached for my ears in the dark before she realized she was reaching for the echo of my soul_.'

Hiei blinked, _almost _amused by the thought of how disconcerting such an experience would have been for Kurama. _Why in the hell were you somewhere dark with her if you didn_'_t know her?_

'_Surprise party_,' Kurama answered. '_We happened to be in the same place when Houjo's_- _well, now she's his wife_. _But she turned out the lights and Kagome was behind me_. _She was so embarrassed_-'

"How about you? What brings you and your friends to Kyoto?" Kagome's questions drew them out of their private discussion before Kurama could relive that particular memory. "And don't tell me it was just to see me, _Shuuichi_. The holiday letters I've gotten from you and your mother were addressed to my old shrine. You had no idea I was here."

"Yet I find it quite a pleasant surprise." Kurama distractedly raked his hand through his hair and nodded to admit the truth of her observation. "But you are correct, Kagome. I'm afraid we're on more of an official visit."

"Oh?" Kagome cocked her head to one side curiously.

Kurama gave her one of his most cajoling smiles, giving her a nudge to show he wanted her input. "We're investigating a report from the area that could possibly involve a human possession."

Yuusuke tensed in alarm, hissing out a curse under his breath at the nonchalant explanation of their presence. That nearly changing to a full-on growl when Kurama simply waved back at them in dismissive reassurance.

"From a malevolent spirit?" Kagome ignored the obvious disapproval from his companions and folded her hands behind her back.

"That's what we're here to find out." He nodded and smiled at the look of concentration that came over her face. '_Ah_…_ I'd forgotten how cute she looks when she's thinking of something serious_.'

_This is sick_, _Kurama_, _even for you_. Hiei shot him a disgusted look. _Propositioning a miko? Have you finally gone completely insane_, _you idiot kitsune?_

'_Kagome is a sweet miko_, _Hiei_.'

_Probably because she's a child who doesn't believe youkai actually exist_. The hybrid let out a snort as he sized up the young miko carefully. But when he reached her eyes, he paused and frowned.

'_Don't be an idiot_, _Hiei_.' Kurama continued despite Hiei's lack of response, clucking his tongue in chiding. '_She's not _that _much younger than my _"_human_"_ body_. _She's just aging well_.'

_That's one way to say it_.

"No one has come to my shrine for an exorcism for a while. Not for anything serious on that scale, at any rate." Kagome folded her arms over her chest, absently plucking at one of her kimono sleeves. Her lips compressed slightly as she looked towards the massive tree. "And none of the spirits seem concerned enough to cry…"

Yuusuke was instantly rolling his eyes, mouthing "fake" at Kurama's back in hopes the kitsune would somehow catch it. Irritated at the lack of response, he shoved his hands down into the pockets of his jeans. Muttering softly to Hiei, "Fuck. I told you this was a stupid idea."

"Except there _was_ something strange that appeared last night." A faintly troubled look crossed her face, but she shook it off quickly and continued in a calm voice. "Something powerful was in town. A strange aura, and not something I've felt here before. That might be worth your while to look into."

Hiei arched an eyebrow in surprise at the information. Fighting back a smirk of wicked amusement as Yuusuke sputtered and fell silent beside him.

Kurama's smile warmed with affectionate pride. "What time was that, Kagome?"

"Late… probably close to midnight if I was going to guess." Kagome shrugged and offered him an apologetic look. "I was meditating in the shrine and I wasn't wearing a watch. I asked Ma-chan if he noticed anything on his way home, but he said he hadn't noticed anything particularly unusual."

"Ma-chan?" Kurama questioned, unable to place the nickname.

"Hold up just a goddamn minute!" Yuusuke snapped out before Kagome could answer. Stalking forward, he grabbed Kurama's shoulder and jerked him out of the way to scowl down at the miko. "You _felt _an aura?"

_Ah_, _and there goes our _'_fearless leader_'_ to offend yet another human female and make our task infinitely more difficult_, Hiei drawled out. Unable to fully hide his entertainment at Kurama's supremely aggravated frown. _Think she_'_ll speak to you again? You _are _the one who brought him to her peaceful home_.

'_He came on his own_; _Kagome won't hold his behavior against me_.' Kurama shot Hiei a warning glare.

_You have more faith in humans than I do_.

'_Inanimate objects have more faith in humans than you do_.'

Hiei shrugged that off, intrigued as he watched the miko stand so calm in the face of Yuusuke's bluster. She was blinking up at the taller boy, eyes shining brightly as she bit down on her lower lip. Privately, he couldn't help but wonder just what kind of people this human associated with for that much mirth to be so poorly hidden in her eyes.

Kagome –for her part- was having an increasingly difficult time containing her laughter. It only became more awkward the longer this man loomed over her with what she imagined was a threatening expression.

For a human.

_I guess some things are just universal_, she couldn't help but think. Forcing herself to keep a straight face, she nodded to verify he'd heard her correctly. "Yes. I felt the aura."

"How?" Yuusuke demanded.

Kagome's shoulders started to shake as she folded her arms over her chest. "The usual way."

'_She's either about to start yelling or laugh her ass off_.' Kurama frowned slightly as he took in the faintly liquid sheen that made those uncommonly blue eyes stand out even more.

_She's laughing at him_. Hiei shot him a dry look at being unable to make the distinction. His stance relaxed minutely as his fear of purification began to ease. Replaced by the more enjoyable prospect of seeing Yuusuke's attempts at intimidation fail so very miserably against a rather petite human girl. _You're slipping more than a little if you can't tell the difference in her eyes_.

'_Hush_. _Kagome has always been a little tricky to read_.' Kurama returned the hybrid's look with a frown of his own.

Hiei arched an eyebrow, not bothering to mask his disbelief. _Now I _know _you're slipping_. _Her emotions are more obvious than that last female you saw fit to seduce_.

'_I was hungry_,' Kurama defended loftily.

Kagome finally lost her tenuous hold on her laughter, slumping back against her doorframe. Wrapping her arms around her waist, she let the clear sound ring out across the courtyard. Yuusuke stumbled back a step in surprise, staring at her as though she'd completely lost her mind. When she didn't appear to be stopping any time soon, he turned a pleading look back on Kurama and Hiei for help.

Hiei shrugged and slipped his hands down into his pockets. "I would laugh at you too."

"I'm sorry." Kagome waved one hand in an apologetic gesture. "I'm terribly sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. It's just that it's been a very long time since anyone got in my face like that over what I can do. Déjà vu moment, you know."

Kurama smoothly brushed Yuusuke aside again and gave him a dark scowl of warning not to try that again. He stepped into Kagome's line of vision, drawing all her attention back to himself. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Please forgive him, Kagome. He's more accustomed to being around people who don't hold any comprehension of _real_ magic or power."

Kagome's expression brightened and she nodded once to show she understood. "Ahh, got it. Your friend is used to the diluted priests."

"Something like that." Kurama smiled.

She leaned around the kitsune to catch Yuusuke's gaze. "You shouldn't go around assuming things without reason in your line of work. There are still bloodlines that have strong ties with the past. You aren't the only one who deals with real spirits and real methods to handle them. No matter what you might have been told by your superiors."

_I believe I'm seeing why you like this miko_. Hiei smirked at rising flush on Yuusuke's cheeks.

'_She sounds so sweet when she's obviously voicing disapproval_, _doesn't she?_' Kurama lifted his hand to hide his appreciative perusal under the guise of brushing his bangs out of his face. '_She did it to me too_, _when she turned me down_. _She had left before I realized she'd said no_.'

Hiei snorted.

'_It was a strictly human party_, _jackass_,' Kurama reminded him irritably. '_I wasn't exactly planning on having to be on my guard for one cute girl_. _Even if she had been able to see more of me than my avatar shell_.'

_Then you should pay more attention to her current disapproval as well_.

"What's the worst case you ever been on then, huh?" Yuusuke challenged before Kurama could step in and stop him. "Just cause I ain't all up on shrines or monks or mikos- that doesn't mean I'm some kinda amateur! What have you ever done that could've gotten your ass killed?"

"_Yuusuke!_" Kurama's voice lowered sharply, his eyes narrowing as they flashed bright gold.

"It's all right, Shuuichi, it doesn't bother me," Kagome spoke up before the two of them could degenerate into a full argument. Shaking off troubled memories, she sighed and folded her arms over her chest. Patiently, she waited for the staring match to taper off. Allowing herself a brief moment of internal arrogance, she brushed her fingertip down over where she knew her first youkai-given scar rested. _If you only knew_, _little boy_…

Carefully, she kept her thoughts off her face. Once she was certain she had Yuusuke's attention, Kagome offered him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "So are you wanting me to show off my scars for you? Will that stand to work as proof?"

She reached down to grasp her sleeve, holding it as though just waiting for him to say yes. "When I was fifteen a youkai tried to tear open my stomach. It's been a long time, but you can still see some of the teeth marks in the depression. Or you can still see some of the ones on my arm still from the time my grandfather's Noh mask was possessed and tried to transfer itself onto my body. After it had eaten several people first in failed attempts, of course."

Yuusuke backed down quickly, admittedly floored at the abrupt shift his accusation had caused to her demeanor. All relaxation was gone from her stance and her face. Now she looked harsh and focused, putting him distinctly in mind of Genkai's demeanor every time he suffered through her 'instruction.'

He looked to Kurama for help and winced at the increasing disapproval in the kitsune's eyes. "I- Sorry… sorry I asked."

Kagome waved his apology aside with a tired sigh and smoothed down her sleeve. "No, it's quite all right. You have every reason to be skeptical and I'm sorry if I offended you. I already know there aren't very many people left in this era who believe in youkai or even miko anymore. The last thing the ones that are left need to be doing is fighting each other over petty things."

Hiei shifted his weight just enough to draw her attention away from Yuusuke. "Where did the energy go? The one you sensed last night."

"It disappeared in the park." Kagome gratefully redirected the conversation, but went perfectly still the moment her eyes landed on Hiei. Her eyes widened in absolute shock, pupils constricting as she took an involuntary step back. _O-oh_…

Following the source of her disruption back to the stoic hybrid, Kurama swore under his breath and hurried to reassure her. "This is a friend of mine, Kagome. Hiei is- ah, intense, but you have nothing to be afraid of from him."

"No." Kagome pressed a hand to her heart, unable to tear her gaze off the youkai even as she forced herself to regain her badly scattered calm. "That's not… I'm not thinking of that."

"If I intended to kill you, miko, I would have done it by now," Hiei informed her shortly. A faint note of exasperation sneaking into his voice over Kurama's mental prodding.

'_Dammit_,_ Hiei_-'

What? _You scowled_, _I reassured her_.

'_I didn't mean like _that!' Kurama hissed.

_Then be more specific next time_.

"Hiei recently left ranks, Kagome. He doesn't mean to be so tactless _or_ rude." Kurama gritted out, inwardly berating himself for being so stupid as to bring either of his companions along. He reached for her wrist, brushing his fingertips over her skin to break the strange enthrallment Hiei's presence seemed to be holding her in.

_Yes I do_.

Kagome started slightly at the contact, looking down at her wrist and back up to Kurama's face. A hint of a blush touched her cheeks as she forced her mind back to the present. Looking from the nearly pleading desperation in the kitsune's eyes to the particularly bored _almost-_scowl on the hybrid's face, she could quite contain a faint smile. Kurama just seemed so determined to put her at ease despite his friends' prickly attitudes. And looked so incredibly frustrated that neither of them were making his repeated attempts easy.

She gently covered Kurama's hand, patting it absently in a soothing gesture. "I think your friend knows exactly what he's doing, Shuu-kun."

Hiei's brows rose, mildly grateful both Yuusuke and Kurama had turned to stare at the miko in surprise. It saved him having to conceal his own sudden interest as he tilted his head to regard her more intently. When she met his stare and held that smile, Hiei snorted and glanced towards the massive tree again. _Perhaps this miko is not completely hopeless after all_.

'_Back off_, _Hiei_.' Kurama ground his teeth almost audibly, struggling to contain his desire to knock their heads together and be done with it. '_Kagome is much more sensitive than any other human I have ever met_. _I'd rather she not figure out exactly what you and Yuusuke are _now. _She is not stupid_, _and if you get careless_, _she will_.'

_She probably already knows_.

"You're welcome to ask any of the souls here about that energy." Kagome finally spoke again. She tilted her chin up to look at the sky, giving off the appearance of being deep in thought. "Kyoto has plenty of spirits that enjoying chatting if you show them you can hear them. But if you're right about the boy, please don't make an effort to exorcise the possessing creature on your own. It's too easy for a child's soul to be misdirected."

Yuusuke's curiosity obviously perked at her request. "Why do you say that?"

"Because it's true," Kagome answered simply. Her eyes closed when the wind around her kicked up, catching her hair and fanning it out around her.

Kagome lifted one hand to curl over her shoulder, letting her chin drop towards her chest to hide her expression. _No_, _sweetheart_, _it's nothing to be worried about_. _I'm all right_. _The man is here_ _with two other youkai_. _They're just confused_.

Hiei's focus snapped back to her, his eyes narrowed. _Youki_.

Kurama was instantly alert, muscles tensing as they darted around the shrine. '_Where?_'

_Around the miko_, Hiei clarified. He closed his eyes as well, focusing on allowing the Jagan to get a clearer line on the signature. _But it makes no sense_. _It was close._ _Wrapped completely around her for a moment_, _then it just disappeared_.

'_Purified?_'

_I don't think so_.

Kagome swallowed, absently sliding the hand on her shoulder to curl loosely around her own throat. Still mostly focused outside herself, she sighed and expounded on her request, "It takes a lot of care and specific energy to break Hell's Chains if you have to pull the soul back. And I don't like fighting the Tatarimokke. It's only doing what it has to," Kagome continued blithely. Oblivious to the trio of stunned looks her casual announcement had brought snapping to her face.

_Kurama_… Hiei barely noted that he was walking forward until he was standing directly beside the kitsune. Dismissing his uncharacteristic behavior, he snuck a glance at Kurama's profile. _Just _how _did you meet this person?_

'_Completely by accident_.' Kurama whispered in awe. '_Kagome is a human_. _A _young _human miko_ _and she has pulled a child's soul free of a Tatarimokke and Hell's Chains?_' He was silent a moment before a smug smile curled his lips upward. '_Damn but I have great taste_.'

Hiei could no more stop his eyes from rolling than he could have stopped the sky from falling. _You have openly admitted that she turned down your proposition_.

'_The good ones always take time and effort_.' Kurama sighed in appreciation for whatever fantasy was running through his head at the moment.

A faint, metallic chirp snapped them all out of their respective dazes. Kagome's eyes cleared in an instant, making a sound of disgust as she lifted her wrist to stare at her watch. "Damn. I'm going to be late."

Kurama's expression shifted to contrite concern despite Hiei's telepathic mockery. "I'm sorry, Kagome, have we interrupted your morning?"

"Oh not too badly," she assured him easily and laughed. "It's my fault. But I have my advanced classes this morning, so they're better at managing themselves. Still, I need to get my gear together and leave. Are you planning to be in town long, Shuuichi-kun?" Kagome pivoted to open the front door.

"At least a while more yet," Kurama promised, eyes briefly flickering gold.

"We'll have to have lunch or dinner so I can tell you all about your heartbroken boyfriend and his wife."

Kurama's lip twitched and he pressed a hand to his heart. "It would be my pleasure."

"No love motels." Kagome help up one finger to dispel any thought he might have in that direction.

Kurama put on his most innocent expression. "The thought never crossed my mind."

"Mmhm." Kagome winked at him again before calling back into the house, "Mama! Can you bring me my bag? I need to go!" When the affirmative call came from inside the house, Kagome turned and clasped her hands in front of her. "I'm sorry to cut this short, Shuu-kun…"

"No, no." Kurama shook his head and took both her hands in his, lifting them to his mouth to press a light kiss on each one. "We understand you have prior obligations, Ka-chan. It's good enough for me to have a promise for later."

"Gods help the women of Kyoto." Kagome couldn't stop herself from giggling, taking back her hands and ruffling his hair as though he was one of her younger students. "You haven't changed much, and it _is _good to see you again."

Kurama tilted his head, curious at the odd note of seriousness that entered her voice. He let it slide for now, filing it away to bring up in a more private setting. But he still opened his arms to embrace her affectionately again. "We'll speak later."

Kagome smiled against his chest and nodded, closing her eyes and selfishly taking comfort in the feel of his strong arms holding her. It had been so long… Reluctantly, she eased out of his embrace and let her gaze wander to the ancient tree. Her jaw tightened, and she glanced at the kitsune out of the corner of her eye. "Be careful while you're here."

Hiei and Yuusuke both straightened at the tone, glancing at each other in a silent gauge of whether that was concern or a warning. Kurama didn't seem to be concerned, reaching out and tucking her hair back behind her ear.

"I will be certain to conduct myself with the utmost care, Kagome," he assured her softly.

"Kyoto is peaceful, but that doesn't mean something dangerous doesn't try to slip through the cracks now and then." Kagome looked up at him and shrugged, feeling a little silly for saying something that obvious to a youkai his age.

"But nothing recent?" Kurama repeated her earlier claim.

Kagome shook her head. "No, but I've- nevermind, it's nothing."

Kurama caught her chin before she could dismiss herself. "I've come to respect your opinions and senses, Kagome. Anything you can add would be most appreciated."

She chewed on her lower lip and exhaled heavily. "It's probably just my problem. I've been having nightmares a lot more frequently lately, but nothing substantial enough that I feel like I can call it a portent. They were never my expertise anyhow."

"We'll be careful," Kurama promised her. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. '_This could be big_, _Hiei_.'

_And it could be nothing_, Hiei reminded him with a shake of his head. _Listen to her instead of reading what you want because you're bored_. _At least she's _trying _to be objective_.

'_Careful_,_ Hiei_, _or I'll start thinking you might be fond of a little human girl_.' Kurama taunted, reaching for his wallet to give Kagome a card with his private number. "Call if anything happens. Or if you find anything that can help us."

"I will. Besides, it's not like you can't find me if you really wanted to." Kagome nodded and accepted the card, sliding it into the front of her kimono and making Kurama's lips twitch. "The trees always did take your side over mine."

The sound of a horn stopped Kurama from responding, and they all turned to look in the direction the sound had come from. Kagome swore under her breath again, stepping back into the house to pull on her sneakers. Her mother was standing on the foyer step with quiet patience, holding a knapsack and a bow until Kagome took them from her.

"If classes run late, tell Masaru I expect to see his marks as soon as I come in please, Mama." Kagome slipped the bow across her chest with practiced ease and shouldered the knapsack. "I think I'm going to walk."

"Would you like me to pick him up, dear?" Mama hid her smile behind her hand.

"No." Kagome finally shook her head. "He'll probably come to the dojo after school anyhow. We'll eat something on the way home."

"Be safe, Kagome-chan." Mama gave her a hug, brushing one hand over Kagome's hair with a wistful smile. "The two of you, I swear… These games you play. Bring home rice, we're almost out."

"All right, call if you think of anything else." Kagome squeezed her mother's hand and stepped back outside, closing the door behind her. She stroked her fingertip habitually down the string of her bow. "Jii-chan had called for a taxi… but I think I'm going to walk and clear my head. If you have somewhere you need to go-?"

Kurama made a brief sound of understanding, "Ah. Thank you very much, Ka-chan, we actually could use a taxi."

"We could?" Yuusuke frowned at the acceptance.

'_Hiei_, _if you would?_'

Hiei shrugged and brought his elbow back into Yuusuke's gut hard enough to knock the wind out of him momentarily.

"Would you like company tonight? Or would I be intruding on your date with a student?" Kurama offered that broad hint in an effort to get more information on the mentioned "Masaru."

_Probably the same _"_Ma-chan_"_ she mentioned before_, Hiei remarked.

'_I realize that_.'

Kagome chuckled and shook her head, reaching up to slap him on the chest. "Get settled in first if you're planning to be in town a while, Shuuichi. This is family night. Call me tomorrow, all right?"

Kurama smiled at the dismissal. "Tomorrow it is."

Kagome reached into her knapsack and pulled out a small charm, pressing it into his hand before she motioned for them to start back towards the Torii. "I'm sure you and your friends can find somewhere that will accommodate _special _needs."

"Oh?" It was Kurama's turn to look surprised, torn between looking at her face and looking at the charm she'd given him.

Kagome glanced at his companions, hanging back slightly until Hiei had fairly dragged Yuusuke past the archway. Leaning up on her toes, Kagome put her mouth next to his ear and whispered, "There's a barrier around a hotel and hot-spring run by a family with trace amounts of the blood. Lots of nature."

"You do know just how I like it." His fingers curled around the gift.

"Just don't break too many hearts while you're here, Kurama." Kagome dropped back down to a normal stance. She turned and bowed slightly to Hiei, "It was nice to meet you. And… interesting." Her line of sight drifted over to Yuusuke. "Good luck finding what you're looking for."

Hiei nodded and Kurama quickly joined them to grab Yuusuke and pull him down the steps before the young man could possibly say anything else rude after Kagome had been so helpful. At the bottom of the stairs, he fairly threw the cursing man into the taxi before turning back to blow Kagome a kiss.

Kagome laughed and made a flicking gesture with her hand. "Get out of here. I'm already late enough."

"I'll call you tomorrow, honey." Kurama grinned and slipped into the taxi, crowding Yuusuke over against the door.

Hiei reluctantly climbed in last, glancing up to the top of the steps. Kurama reached across him and pulled the door closed, asking the driver the names of all the nearby hotels. Ignoring the kitsune, he propped his elbow on arm of the door. Keeping his focus on Kagome a moment more as the laughter on her face faded to a more somber expression. She turned away from them, frowning back at something only she could see as the wind around her kicked up again.

_Strange_…

The taxi pulled away from the steps, and Hiei resigned himself to this uncomfortable and impossibly inconvenient mode of human travel. It was easy to tune out Yuusuke's snarled threats at Kurama over 'what the fuck just happened' with the kitsune's miko friend. Especially with the horrid chemical odor of fake flowers in this car making his head ache. But if Kurama could take it without flinching, he'd be damned if he made any indication of his own discomfort.

A faint pulse of jyaki threaded through the pure ki surrounding the shrine and snapped Hiei's attention right back around to the miko. Twisting to follow the source, he found himself staring back up the steps through the taxi's window. Up to the top of the ancient stairs and higher until his eyes landed on the diminutive figure sitting on top of the Torii.

Glowing scarlet eyes narrowed at Hiei as their silent watcher rose to his feet.

The boy's face turned down toward where Kagome stood, lifting again to meet Hiei's gaze more directly. A clear, silent warning flashed in those inhuman eyes. Dangerous and possessive… The scowling child held up his hand and allowed jyaki to swirl visibly above his palm. Twining up around the youkai's arm and giving off a staggering pulse of menacing force before absorbing back into his skin.

The scowl abruptly changed to a smirk and the boy pivoted, dropping down behind Kagome. Hiei's hand curled into a fist, fighting the urge to throw open the door of the taxi and rush to confront the youkai.

_Daylight_… _too many eyes_, _too many _humans, Hiei reminded himself sharply. Instead, he watched the boy walk to her side casually and lean against her hip. The ominous glow faded from his eyes when the miko rested her hand affectionately on the child's head. Just in time to have completely disappeared by the time she looked down at him.

"Kurama."

"Hm?" Kurama broke off his quiet argument with Yuusuke and glanced over his shoulder.

_You and I need to return here this evening_.

'_Why? Did you think of something we should have asked her?_' Kurama frowned at the absolute certainty in they hybrid's voice. Hiei shook his head, still craned around awkwardly to stare out the window and snaring Kurama's curiosity. Ducking down to put his own eyes at the same level, Kurama stared back toward the shrine as well. At the sight of the boy wrapping his arms around Kagome's waist, his brows arched in surprise. Subconsciously he pressed one hand on Hiei's thigh to lean closer to the window and studied the interaction between the two. '_Is that her brother?_'

Hiei slanted a quick, sharp glare at the kitsune at the placement of his hand. Searching that inhumanly pretty face for a sign he was doing it on purpose. Satisfied that there was no hidden agenda behind the contact, Hiei let it slide rather than draw attention to it.

Glancing back over his shoulder, Hiei made sure Yuusuke was still distracted giving their irritated driver instructions on everything _he _thought they needed in a hotel. Shifting to hide his actions further, Hiei lifted his hand and pressed his fingertip to the window to point directly at the pair.

_The youkai is inside that boy_.


End file.
